Leaving Home Ain't Easy

I take a step outside
And I breathe the air
And I slam the door
And I'm on my way
I won't lay no blame
I won't call you names
'Cause I've made my break
And I won't look back
I've turned my back
On those endless games

I'm all through with ties
I'm all tired of tears
I'm a happy man
Don't it look that way
Shakin' dust from my shoes
There's a road ahead
And there's no way back home (no way back home)
Oh but I have to say

Leavin' home ain't easy
Oh I never thought it would be easy
Leavin' on your own
Oh there's a million things calling me back
Leavin' home ain't easy
On the one you're leavin' home

Stay my love my love please stay
Don't stray my love what's wrong my love?
What's right my love?

Oh leavin' home ain't easy
I thought how could I think of leavin'
Leavin' on your own
Still tryin' to persuade me that
Leavin' home ain't necessarily the only way
Leavin' home ain't easy
But may be the only way


Lirik dari lagu "Leaving Home Ain't Easy" oleh Queen
Musik dan lirik oleh Brian May


jk

AYAM vs TELOR

Refleksi santai atas kisah penciptaan di Kejadian 1. Hehehe.

Q : Duluan mana AYAM atau TELOR?
A : Jelas duluan AYAM.

1. Kalo telor duluan, emangnya yang ngeremin siapa? Mbok Berek? Ato Ny. Suharti? Dulu kan belom ada lampu bohlam 5-watt buat ngangetin!

2. Menurut Kitab Kejadian, Tuhan menciptakan ayam, bukan telor ayam. Kalo telor duluan, kasian Mas Adam harus nunggu telornya netes dulu baru bisa kasih nama. Kasian juga Mbak Hawa, dapet tugas ngeremin telor-telor berbagai jenis unggas dan reptil. Bayangin kalo harus ngeremin telor Tyrannosaurus Rex! Hehehe.

3. Iya,iyaaaaa ... karena saya nulisnya di atas 'ayam' duluan kaaan??? ;-p

Niiih, pertanyaan yang lebih menantang :
"Ayam diciptain hari kelima atau keenam?"

Hari kelima Tuhan 'kan menciptakan burung-burung di udara ... hari keenam Tuhan 'kan menciptakan binatang di darat ... nah, ayam kan termasuk jenis unggas/burung? Tapi kan ... ayam nggak bisa terbang??? Hayooo ... :-)

Smile,
jk

Belajar dari lanthing

Bagi Anda yang belum 'ngeh' apa itu lanthing - lanthing adalah snack khas dari Kebumen dan daerah sekitarnya. Bentuknya kecil-kecil menyerupai angka delapan (delapan angka Latin lho ... bukan delapan Romawi ... hehehe).

Lanthing selalu always terbuat dari singkong. Cara membuatnya pun mudah. Singkong dibuat gethuk, lalu digiling atau dipilin kecil panjang-panjang seperti mie, kemudian dibentuk angka delapan, dan setelah itu dijemur sampai kering. Terakhir, tinggal digoreng deh. Mudah bukan? Mau coba bikin? Ah, repot amat, mendingan beli. Sekarang di Jakarta pun banyak toko oleh-oleh yang jual. ;-p

Nah, yang menarik dari lanthing adalah apa yang saya sebut "REVOLUSI RASA"-nya. Beugh ... apa pula itu revolusi rasa?

Begini ceritanya ... dulu setahu saya, yang namanya lanthing itu cuma ada rasa "original", yaitu gurih rada asin. Buat saya dan beberapa teman, lanthing yang rasa original ini rasanya lumayan enak, tapi kurang menarik karena rada mbosenin.

Whee lhadalah ... kira-kira beberapa tahun terakhir ini, yang namanya lanthing itu ternyata nggak kalah 'genit' dengan Chiki, Taro, atau Pringles ... ada rasa keju, rasa jagung, bakar, dan rasa pedas manis ... selain tentunya rasa original pun tetap ada. And guess what? Konon itu semakin meningkatkan angka penjualan lanthing dari tahun ke tahun - paling tidak itu penuturan penjaga toko oleh-oleh di stasiun Kebumen, sesaat sebelum saya pulang ke Jakarta beberapa waktu lalu. Keren. Interesting. Inspiring.

Hmmm ...
Belajarlah dari lanthing ...
Berubahlah menjadi lebih baik, lebih fleksibel, lebih akomodatif, lebih berwarna, lebih berasa, lebih reaching out, lebih komunikatif.

Be more flexible. Be more acceptable. Be more open and prepared to necessary changes in life.

Home Alone

Hehehe. Hari ini genap 6 hari aku home alone di rumah. Lumayan. Ada banyak hal yang aku pelajari. Terutama betapa berartinya kehadiran istri dan anak-anakku di rumah. Meskipun aku relatif bisa handle pekerjaan-pekerjaan rumah yang perlu kulakukan, tapi tetap saja aku merasa hasil kerjaku nggak sebaik hasil kerjaan istriku. Hehehe. Nyapu, ngepel, nyuci piring, nyuci baju, jemur baju, jemur kasur, siram taneman, rapiin buku dan DVD, buang sampah, bakar sampah, kuras bak, isi bak mandi, masak nasi, bikin lauk, bikin minuman panas, grocery shopping, dll., itu semua kulakukan ... tapi tetep aja aku nggak ngerasa hebat. Kenapa? 'Cos I'm not even with the kids!!! Maksudnya?

Kebayang kan kalo pas kutinggal pelayanan ato ke mana gitu yang berhari-hari, istriku yang urus rumah sendiri, PLUS ngurus Natalie dan Valerie - all on her own. Darling, you are truly a superwoman. I'm really proud having you by my side, you know. I love you, my wonderful wife ... :-)



Aduh jadi kangen. Ah, good news is, besok mereka pulang -- hmmm ... siang atau sore yah? Mama, Mbak, Dede ... Papa kangen kalian!!!

Love,
jk

Selamat Idul Fitri 1429H

Tadi pagi dah silaturahmi sama tetangga ... dah silaturahmi sama sodara di Cempaka Putih sama di Kampung Makassar juga. Lunas dah kewajiban silaturahmi. Hehehe.

Selamat Idul Fitri ... Selamat Hari Lebaran ... Minal aidin wal faidzin ... mohon maaf lahir dan bathin.

Sekarang tinggal ngurusin perut (hehehe ... both infinitives ... "urus" and "kurus" ... wakakakaka!) yang kagak mau kompromi karena abis nge-blend tape-uli, ketupat, gudeg, sambel goreng daging, rendang, ayam goreng, es buah, teh manis, nastar, bakso, mie goreng, kerupuk udang, ama kacang mete. Hehehe. Siklus mules setahun sekali harus dihadapi dengan sabar ... ;-p


Cheerz,
jk

Mudik ... and back!

Okay, okay, it's been a while. Better late than never, eh? So, I went to Grujugan in Petanahan, Kebumen, with my wife and kids last week. We left Monday morning by train, having a marvelous 7-hour trip to Kebumen. We stayed, well, I stayed in Grujugan until Saturday morning, and ... here I am now, back in Jakarta. I got back in Jakarta Saturday afternoon. My wife and kids are still there now - will be back here on Saturday, I suppose. Hehehe.

Many things to tell you about, but am too lazy to write now. Well, basically I learned many things about being a pastor, being a good dad, and now that I'm at home and need to take care of myself, I'm also learning how wonderful my wife is. It's not easy to take care of the house on your own you know. And I'm not even with the kids! So, thanks a million to my wonderful wife.

Being a pastor is not an easy job (well, is it a "job" at all? hehehe). You really need to perpetually learn to be humble and to self-sacrifice. What you do, what you say, even what you think are subject to other people's observing eyes. Well, I guess that's one thing why it's not called a "job". It's rather a calling. A calling to live for others. A calling to be for others ... no no no ... it's a calling to deny your self-being for the sake of others. There. I've said it.

So, why I left my wife and kids in Grujugan? Well, only one reason. Last Sunday evening I had a meeting with pastor and presbyters of GKJ Bekasi (Pak Bambang, Pak Wisnu, and Pak Andreas), to receive the official letter from GKJ Bekasi regarding my designation/candidacy as pastor candidate/designate of GKJ Bekasi.

Oh, the above pic is the one took at a small train station during my trip back to Jakarta. Yes, the little boy by the train is the traditionally-known "child railway beggar" who would ask for money from passengers in trains stopping by at the station. Not a good picture, eh? Well, that's typical in this area. I didn't give anything to him, cos for sure I don't go with child exploitation - although some say it's been a long-living tradition in the area. The kids are not from poor families. They have parents, they have good houses, they go to school. They are simply exploited by some "preman" from the villages. Well, why on earth should I support child exploitation? No way. No friggin' way.

Well, that's all. Mudik ... and back!

Cheerz,

jk